This device relates to rooftop mounted equipment carriers for vehicles, specifically forms configured for improved accessibility.
For many years luggage racks on cars have been provided as a convenient way for hauling baggage and larger items better kept outside the vehicle such as sports equipment. Their design provides an accessible and sizeable platform when used on a typical sedan. However, more recently Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV""s) and minivans have become increasingly popular. Although these vehicles are commonly used for carrying bicycles, ski""s, luggage, lumber, etc., their roof height creates inconvenient if not difficult access for a typical roof rack. A 6-foot tall person may need to stand on a rear tire or door sill to gain full access to the roof of an SUV. One popular alternative to the roof rack has been the trailer-hitch mounted equipment rack. An issue with some of these design""s however is that access to the rear door or hatch is complicated. A limitation with all of these designs is the inability to also pull a boat, trailer, etc. while using the hitch rack. Other lesser concerns with hitch racks are their impact on rear view visibility, and higher vulnerability to equipment damage in traffic and parking. A hitch rack is also unable to carry certain types of equipment such as kayaks and shell-type equipment carriers, as well as lumber, plywood, and other large items better carried outside the vehicle.
Existing patents granted over the recent years show that the access problem typical with roof racks on tall vehicles has been realized and addressed in many forms. There are more than two dozen patents citing roof mounted carriers that are specialized to provide improved convenience for mounting and dismounting of equipment. Many of the devices are complex assemblies of varying degrees using telescoping tracks such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,826,387 by Audet (1989), 5,884,824 by Spring (1999), 2002/0014504 by Hetu (2002), or U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,223 by Golze (1982). Some require multiple linkages such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,360,151 by Fine (1994), 5,544,796 by Dubach (1996), 5,360,150 by Praz (1993), or 5,988,470 by Siciliano (1999), while others are simpler but necessitate mounting hardware to the side of the vehicle as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,240,571 by Ernst (1980), 4,682,719 by Ernst (1987), and 4,887,750 by Dainty (1989) which makes them less practical for private vehicles. Some designs either would block a side door when lowered, or can only be used on vans without a side door as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,207 by Frank (1994), 5,535,929 by Neill (1996), 5,782,391 by Cretcher (1998), or 6,015,074 by Snavely (2000). Also, some devices are configured to carry specific equipment such as mainly bicycles like in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,284,282 by Mottino (1994), 5,421,495 by Bubik (1995), and 5,709,521 by Glass (1998). Others employ drive systems using cables and/or motors as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,417,358 by Haselgrove (1995), 5,423,650 by Zerbst (1995), or 5,505,579 by Ray (1996). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,728,244 by Stokkendal (1988) and 4,291,823 by Freeman (1981) use a much more complex configuration to attain the similar functional result of the device described here. U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,831 by Spratt (1997) effectively uses torsion springs to counterbalance the cargo load however the luggage rails of most vehicles may not accept the pull-out forces caused by reacting these torsion spring forces without augmenting their attachment to the vehicle. Neither the Spratt, Hetu, or forms of most of the aforementioned patents latch automatically when placed into their stowed positions, making inadvertent deployment a higher risk.
There appears to be a need at the consumer level for a roof mounted equipment rack that can provide several enhanced design and operational features over conventional racks. The device described herein was designed to the following driving requirements:
mechanically simple, i.e. few parts, no motors,
owner installed, i.e. no drilling, welding, special tools, complex assembly, or complex alignments,
simple to use, i.e. few actions required to stow and deploy,
simple to maintain, i.e. no periodic adjustments or realignments required,
lightweight for ease of use,
deployment and stowing/latching action not to be compromised by mud, snow, or ice,
operable by average height people standing on the ground with the device mounted on a typical SUV,
able to accept mounts for various sports equipment types, luggage, lumber, etc.,
low profile for accessibility to cargo even without deploying and for improved ceiling clearance,
deployable to either side of the vehicle and without having to unlatch both sides to initiate the deployment,
automatically latch when placed into the stowed position,
carriage to be easily removable and collapsible for off-vehicle storage and,
strong enough to accept loads while being used on an off-road vehicle with cargo attached.
The device is a vehicle roof mounted equipment rack designed primarily to provide increased accessibility to the cargo. It is generally intended for use with tall vehicles such as vans and SUV""s but can be mounted to automobiles as well. The device consists of a movable carriage and a fixed set of roof mounted tracks. The tracks are positioned horizontally and perpendicular to the vehicle""s longitudinal axis. The carriage is fitted with rollers that are guided by the tracks. The two track members have a specialized catch feature on each end that contain a latch pin for securing the carriage when in the roof mounted (stowed) position. The carriage is a rectangular shaped tubular frame assembly comprised mainly of two lateral members and two longitudinal members, all four joined by similar latch assemblies in each corner. Each latch assembly, as well as providing a structural element for joining a lateral member with a longitudinal member, contains a pair of rollers for traversing on the fixed track members and a hand-operated pivotable latch mechanism that interfaces with the track member latch pins. A novel feature is the ability for the carriage to be selectively deployed to either side of the vehicle, and moreover only the latches on the deployed side need to be actuated. This provides the option of loading the carriage from one side of the vehicle and unloading it from the other to the preference of the user. To operate, the carriage is firstly unlatched and manually pulled outward until it stops. Secondly, the carriage is pivoted downward to a near vertical position against the side of the vehicle whereby the rack mounted equipment is now positioned at a convenient waist-to-chest high location. Stowing is the same steps in reverse except simpler as the carriage latches automatically when placed into the stow position on the rooftop.
Advantages
There are several important accomplishments and advantages this device holds over the prior art. They are summarized as follows:
1. Once unlatched, the carriage and its equipment mounts, such as aftermarket ski or bike carriers, can be lifted away and collapsed for storage. Only the two track members that contain minimal hardware remain attached to the vehicle.
2. The carriage rollers are not interlocked or captured into channels as with other concepts, thereby providing two important capabilities. The first as described previously is ease of removal of the carriage. Secondly is ease of use in snow and ice conditions that could inhibit motion in a captured roller system. Also, this configuration is not prone to collecting dirt and debris as with a channel configuration or the binding or rattling possible with telescoping tubes.
3. The latching concept is uniquely configured to also be tolerant of debris within the system, even ice or dirt, and still securely latch by employing a novel compensating design.
4. The carriage lateral members are each outfitted with two foot rest fittings. Each fitting is adjustable for height and position on the member. The feet are positioned to rest against the vehicle body or window moulding, allowing the carriage to be deployed without contacting the vehicle. This eliminates the need for mounting hardware to the side of the vehicle or from having to cantilever the load off of the roof as with other concepts.
5. The carriage can be deployed to either side of the vehicle, and only one side of the vehicle needs to be accessed to unlatch the carriage. This allows the user to selectively deploy the carriage to either side when factors such as traffic, parking proximity, side door accessibility, cargo placement on the rack, or user footing are considered.
6. The deployment operation involves only three actions: unlatch, pull outward, rotate downward. There are no motors, telescoping mechanisms, or winches to operate, and there are no latches to release on the far side of the vehicle.
7. The stowing action is simpler than deploying as the carriage latches automatically when set into position on the roof.
8. There is no hardware that mounts to the vehicle""s roof or sides. The roof mount adapter assemblies attach the track members to the vehicle""s existing longitudinal roof rails. There are no counterbalance springs as in some designs that would add complexity and impart high pull-out loads on the screws fastening the longitudinal roof rails to the vehicle.
9. The configuration is low profile. The design places the equipment mounts at a similar or lower height than the vehicles original equipment roof rack or typical aftermarket racks.
Further objects and advantages of the device such as ease of manufacture, ergonomic considerations, and broad applicability to vehicle types with minimal hardware changeout will be brought out upon review of the drawings and descriptions.